Ever since a guy called me "Sir," adding to my insecurity about looking like a drag queen, I don't care if I'm ma'am or miss.

Originally Posted by claudine191

Aw, damn. I had that happen once at Victoria's Secret!! DH and I walk in and the clerk was like "How can I help you gentlemen?" My hair was very short and I was wearing a leather coat and jeans. She was mortified once she realized I was a woman. LoL!

Seems to me the modern trend is for people - especially sales and customer service employees (and not just southerners) - to routinely call all adult women "ma'am". ... That could explain why a lot of women aged 16, 26, 36 or 57 are saying that people only recently started calling them ma'am. It may have a lot less to do with age and more to do with polite business and social practice.

... Or depending on how ma'am is used, it could be code for "bit@%". Same for use of sir. Sometimes it's code for a-hole

I'm from the South and we call pretty much everyone ma'am! I'm only 21 and I look like I'm about 15, but I get it all the time. It's the respectful thing to do here. When you're a kid, you are taught that you always say "yes ma'am/yessir". If you ever forget to say it, well you learn real fast.

Seems to me the modern trend is for people - especially sales and customer service employees (and not just southerners) - to routinely call all adult women "ma'am". ... That could explain why a lot of women aged 16, 26, 36 or 57 are saying that people only recently started calling them ma'am. It may have a lot less to do with age and more to do with polite business and social practice.

... Or depending on how ma'am is used, it could be code for "bit@%". Same for use of sir. Sometimes it's code for a-hole

Originally Posted by Korkscrew

Your posts are always full of real world logic, Korkscrew. It's refreshing to see. I definitely agree that it's more of a social practice than anything age based. One thing I say a lot instead of "Miss" or "ma'am" is "honey" or "young lady." Depends on the setting. I've used "young lady" more than a few times on women in their 40s and they are flattered beyond belief.

When I was working as a sales person I had a woman come up behind me and say excuse me ma'am but when I turned around she said with a snooty look on get face "oh, I mean miss" always rubbed me the wrong way. I was young at the time, early 20's and didn't mind being called either but her changing her mind like that made me angry!

LOL Bobby. Everyone has a system I guess, in terms of how they address others. There's a lot I don't mind and a few things that rub me the wrong way. I tend to get skeeved when a guy calls me "honey" or "hon" unless it's an older family member ... it's a quirk, I suppose. Plus, it's slightly hypocritical because I will call other females "hon" or "honey" at times. I only tend to do that when it seems they're already feeling comfortable around me. But even then, who knows, I'm probably annoying a few people here and there.

LOL Bobby. Everyone has a system I guess, in terms of how they address others. There's a lot I don't mind and a few things that rub me the wrong way. I tend to get skeeved when a guy calls me "honey" or "hon" unless it's an older family member ... it's a quirk, I suppose. Plus, it's slightly hypocritical because I will call other females "hon" or "honey" at times. I only tend to do that when it seems they're already feeling comfortable around me. But even then, who knows, I'm probably annoying a few people here and there.

Originally Posted by Korkscrew

I am the same, when people I don't know call me honey it really bothers me!

For me it just kind of became a somewhat of a habit when when I became a father as two of my three kids (6 year old and two 4 year olds) being girls. Though I generally wait for the woman to call me "honey" before I refer to her as such.

I once had a male coworker call me "Baby Girl." Creeped the heck out of me. That's definitely crossing the line. I'm bad about calling people hon. Maybe that's my Southern roots.

When it comes to Miss, Mrs, Ms, Ma'am....I don't sweat the small stuff. I don't feel anyone is trying to be insulting. I will answer to any of these. Men have only one title...Sir. I've known young males who have gotten offended when they are called that, because they feel that should be directed at an older man.

From Michael Berg:

Every person has a unique connection to the Creator that can never be extinguished, and every person has a great soul that can manifest important things in our world. To make a person feel less than they are because of something inside themselves, be it faith, race, or sexual orientation, is the greatest sin of all."

Shemar Moore can call me "Baby Girl" all he wants. Especially in the bedroom.

From Michael Berg:

Every person has a unique connection to the Creator that can never be extinguished, and every person has a great soul that can manifest important things in our world. To make a person feel less than they are because of something inside themselves, be it faith, race, or sexual orientation, is the greatest sin of all."